New doctoral research by UCT’s Paola Viglietti, co-supervised across the Departments of Psychology and Public Health, is drawing national attention for its findings on how routine pesticide exposure may affect children’s cognitive development in farming communities.

Published in Environmental Research, the study found that children living in intensively farmed regions of the Western Cape may experience reduced executive functioning linked to pesticide exposure. The work highlights the value of interdisciplinary research at UCT, connecting developmental psychology, public health and environmental justice.

The study has been featured in several major South African news outlets, including Daily Maverick, Netwerk24, IOL, the Sunday Tribune and the Mail & Guardian. You can read Paola's article in the Daily Maverick here

Two journal articles have also been produced so that curious readers can interrogate the data and findings themselves

The UCT Psychology department congratulates Paola on finishing her PhD and getting her important research out to both the scientific community and the public.